Vikings' Cook joins team drills for 1st time since injury in rookie season

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has taken a positive step to returning to the field for the beginning of his sophomore season.

Cook was cleared to participate in certain portions of 11-on-11 drills on Monday, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. It's the first time Cook's participated in team drills, as he'd been limited to individual exercises on the rehab field for the first two weeks of voluntary team workout. He's been working his way back from a torn ACL that ended his 2017 rookie campaign in Week 4.

"I've been feeling good, but this week was another milestone in the rehab," Cook said. "This was a milestone for me just to get back out there and get some things done."

Cook was seen wearing a brace on his wounded left knee, but he was able to take reps with the first-team offense and work on situational drills in the red zone.

The 41st overall pick of the 2017 draft understands he still has a way to go in order to get back to his rookie form that had him gain 354 rushing yards and score two touchdowns on just 74 attempts.

"You think you're in shape until you go take four reps back-to-back and then you're like, man, it's a different type of shape you need to get in. Just getting back out there and just getting that feeling back out," Cook said. "Just to get your body back out there, I got to still take those steps. It's a long process. I've got a long way to go. Just got to keep working."